Battleground
PvP action to control a hotly-contested instance area. =General info= *Battlegrounds have 2 red instance entrance portals, one for Alliance and one for Horde characters. *Balanced numbers of each faction are allowed through the portal, the order per side to be determined by a waiting queue for each side. *In the main zone there is a large-scale PvP fight for an area. *The two initial Battleground areas (Alterac Valley and Warsong Gulch) went live June 7th, 2005. *Arathi Basin Battleground added in 1.7 patch on September 13th, 2005. *You can join a Battleground from a Battlemaster in any capital city. Ask a guard to locate one. *Warsong Gulch is the quickest battleground, and therefore has the shortest queues to get onto. This is the most popular battleground since it is the first one that people can access. *A fifth battleground, called Azshara Crater, is present in the game, and similar to Alterac Valley, but as of yet isn't programmed. Proofs of it's existance are the faction marked entrances on Forlorn Ridge, exploit, and WoW Map Viewer. See also: Battlegrounds area at the official site. = New Battlegrounds? = * Caydiem: We're not making any new Battlegrounds in the near future. We naturally need to be careful about spreading the PvP community thin. That isn't to say we're not thinking about what we could do with a new Battleground, but I wouldn't expect anything anytime soon, no. http://news.thottbot.com/?authors=-117&sidebars=Bliz&threads=2335007 * Nethaera: There will be a new battleground the expansion as well if you prefer battlegrounds. I'd suggest trying the Arena out too just to see if you really don't care to take part in it or not though. Just to be sure. http://news.thottbot.com/?authors=-117&sidebars=Bliz&threads=3475448 * Nathaera: There is one new battleground planned. (There may be more added in the future but we shall see.) Just to clear something up, The Caverns of Time are not Battlegrounds. http://news.thottbot.com/?authors=-117&sidebars=Bliz&threads=3470208 * Tseric: It's the new Battleground. (when asked: "I saw on thottbot reward tokens from a bg called Eye of The Storm? Is this the Arena or a new bg?" Suspected new BG in The Burning Crusade Expansion, no other official details in post) http://forums.worldofwarcraft.com/thread.html?topicId=41794669&sid=1&pageNo=1 = Existing Battlegrounds= Warsong Gulch *'Factions:' Silverwing Sentinels (Alliance), Warsong Outriders (Horde) *'Alliance Base:' Silverwing Hold *'Alliance Entrance:' Silverwing Grove, following the road south of Silverwing Outpost. When following from the road to The Barrens, watch out for the Fallen Sky Lake, which is full of level 24-30 Mobs. *'Horde Base:' Warsong Lumber Mill *'Horde Entrance:' Mor'shan Base Camp, west of Mor'shan Rampart in The Barrens. *'Levels:' 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, 60. Minimum level to participate was lowered to 10 in 1.8. *'Combatants:' 10 per faction (5 minimum) *'Map:' On WorldofWarcraft.com Warsong Gulch is a fairly straightforward, capture-the-flag scenario. The objective is to be the first team to capture the enemy's flag three times. The Horde flag is located in the Warsong Lumber Mill (south), and the Alliance flag is located in Silverwing Hold (north). Arathi Basin *'Factions:' The League of Arathor (Alliance), The Defilers (Horde) *'Alliance Base:' Trollbane Hall *'Alliance Entrance:' Inside Refuge Pointe in the Arathi Highlands *'Horde Base:' Defiler's Den *'Horde Entrance:' Inside the Hammerfall gates, on the upper part of the town, in the Arathi Highlands *'Levels:' 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60 *'Combatants:' 15 per faction (7 minimum) *'Map:' On WorldofWarcraft.com The objective of Arathi Basin is to be the first side to amass 2000 victory points. Points are automatically awarded every few moments to each side in increments of 20. Players interact with flag at each of five bases--the Stables, the Lumber Mill, the Blacksmith, the Gold Mine and the Farm--in order to capture the base. The more bases your side controls, the faster you rack up points. It is easiest for the Horde to hold the Farm and the Alliance to hold to Stables, as these lie directly outside their respective starting locations. The Blacksmith is typically the most difficult to hold, as it lies in the center of the map. Alterac Valley *'Factions:' Stormpike Guard (Alliance), Frostwolf Clan (Horde) *'Alliance Base:' Dun Baldar (North) *'Alliance Entrance:' The Headland (Alterac Mountains) north of Southshore *'Horde Base:' Frostwolf Keep (South) *'Horde Entrance:' East of Sofera's Naze (Alterac Mountains) north of Tarren Mill *'Levels:' 51-60 *'Combatants:' 40 per faction (20 minimum) The only way to win Alterac Valley is to kill the enemy faction leader: Drek'thar (Horde general), or Vanndar Stormpike (Alliance general). There are a number of lesser objectives in Alterac Valley as well. *Each side possesses graveyards that can be captured. *Each side possesses towers/bunkers that can be captured or destroyed. *Each side has a lesser boss that can be fought as practice for fighting the enemy general. *Each side has access to a mine, which can be reclaimed from creeps to retrieve supplies for their army. *Each side is able to hunt creep Rams or Wolves for leather for bridles. *Each side is able to domesticate creep Rams or Wolves to create cavalry. *Each side has imprisoned Flight Master NPCs that can be rescued, who then become air bombers. *Each side has various steps that can be undertaken to create and upgrade NPC troops who then join the fighting. = Future/Incomplete Battlegrounds= Azshara Crater Release: This Battleground has not been released in live version of World of Warcraft. Blizzard Entertainment has yet to announce any work on finishing Azshara Crater. Its existance is known due to the faction marked caves on Forlorn Ridge, and thanks to addons and exploits. *'Factions:' Unknown. Thusfar Tauren and Trolls (Horde) and Gnomes (Alliance) lack a Battleground faction associated with their race. Unplayable faction races such as High Elves (Alliance) and Ogres (Horde) are also a possibility, but this is purely speculation. *'Alliance Base:' Unknown. *'Alliance Entrance:' South side of Forlorn Ridge, nearby Talrendis Point. *'Horde Base:' Unknown. *'Horde Entrance:' North side of Forlorn Ridge. Right now, this part is populated by Naga. *'Combatants:' Unknown, as of yet... *'Level:' Probably 50-59, 60-69 and 70, just like Alterac Valley, but maybe also 40-49, since the zone is 45-55. Category:Battlegrounds Category:Cross-realm Category:Game terms